It seems that Lusher High School in New Orleans has a celebrity teacher this year, former Mayor Mitch Landrieu. He will be teaching an Advanced Placement American Government course to a select group of students.

Not surprisingly, his emphasis will be on local government, which makes sense since Landrieu was Mayor of New Orleans for eight years. While it might be interesting to hear from Landrieu’s liberal perspective, will the high school be offering an alternative ideological viewpoint? Will there be balance in the classroom?

I am writing this missive while sitting on a heating pad. I was lacing up my golf shoes this morning when I felt a twinge in my left side along the belt line. It wasn’t bad but it was annoying, especially since I had already completed my stretching followed by my three-mile Old Fartlek run-walk-run, all without incident.

Last week, as the storm system that would later become Hurricane Barry formed in the Gulf of Mexico, the media hype was already beginning. The Weather Channel deployed a team of almost a dozen reporters to the Gulf Coast. The national newspapers and cable news networks led their coverage with reporting on potential devastation advancing toward the State of Louisiana.

You might say the writing is on the wall or in this case, exterior fence. Free expression primes the New Orleans code enforcement. At least for now.

A federal court just found in favor of a homeowner-artist, who like just about everybody on this globe, has had a few things to say about the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, whether it be positive or negative or both. Few, however, take it out on their own fence.

The passing of Leah Chase was not merely the end of a wonderful, giving life, but it marks the close of a epoch. The life and times of Leah Chase chart a history of America’s race relations and its connection to the universal love of food.

Mrs. Chase did not merely prepare meals for customers, she made a statement with every plate laid down on a table. In her quiet and gracious manner she soothed raw emotions with her gumbo and fried chicken. She opened her doors to all with love. Her restaurant became a meeting place where people from varied backgrounds could gather around the table and share a wonderful meal. More importantly, while eating, they also shared one another’s company which did much to grease the wheels of social progress.

It has been over two years since the self-centered former Mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, removed four historic monuments without a vote of the people. In a bid to garner national attention and praise from liberal media outlets, Landrieu labeled the monuments “racist” and symbols of the “Cult of the Lost Cause.” His cynical campaign was an attempt to minimize the importance and significance of monuments that had stood in the city of New Orleans for over 100 years.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell won, even though she may not have had anything to do with it.

Last weekend, dozens of local measures peppered ballots across the state for voter assessment. Perhaps the most prominent was a proposal to increase property taxes on New Orleanians designed to pass through to fund operations of the New Orleans Council on Aging.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I always do. A New Year always brings with it promise and uncertainty, but this coming year brings with it a greater foreboding than we have experienced in the past. The Chinese have a saying: “May you live in interesting times.” But their definition means dangerous or turbulent. We in Louisiana and throughout America certainly live in “interesting” times today.

Should Vietnamese who came into the United States, fleeing communist control and devastation of Vietnam or other circumstances prior to the resumption of diplomatic relations in 1995 be subject to deportation?

The Trump administration says yes and claims that the focus is upon certain Vietnamese who have committed violent crimes, but appears to be interpreting current law to expand the population of Vietnamese who might be eligible for deportation.

For those recovering from Turkey stuffed with family invasions, Black Friday’s, Cyber Monday’s and who looking for some sanity, albeit brief until Christmas and Hanukkah start spreading good cheer and gifts, you’re in luck.